WDC Files 43 Complaints Against Fat Cat Donors, Ex-Governor

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Forty-two wealthy contributors violated a state campaign finance law in 2002 that imposes a $10,000 a year limit on the total amount of contributions they can make to political candidates and committees, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.
WDC Files 43 Complaints Against Fat Cat Donors, Ex-Governor

Action prompted by six-fold increase in contribution limit violations

May 13, 2003

Madison -

WDC filed complaints with the State Elections Board against the alleged violators (see table) along with hundreds of pages from candidate campaign finance reports detailing the contributions made by each individual.

One of the contributors - Carol Hanson of Delafield - also violated the $10,000 limit on contributions to any one candidate for statewide office in a four-year campaign period. WDC also filed a complaint against former Governor Scott McCallum whose year-end report shows he accepted Hanson’s three contributions totaling $11,000 and did not return $1,000 of it to her.

The alleged violations represent an alarming six-fold increase over the seven violators found by WDC in 2000 and twice as many as the number of violators in 2001.

When WDC brought evidence of violations of the campaign contribution limits to the attention of the State Elections Board last year and the year before, the Board took no enforcement action. That inaction prompted WDC to file formal complaints this time, Democracy Campaign executive director Mike McCabe said.

"The Elections Board’s permissiveness has bred disrespect for the law," McCabe said. "It should not be necessary for citizens to file formal complaints to get the Elections Board to do its job. But the Board has consistently looked the other way when it comes to violations of the campaign contribution limits."

In addition to the sharp increase in violators, the number and nature of the alleged violations in 2002 was alarming because:

Several contributors significantly exceeded the $10,000 contribution limit. One contributor made a limit-smashing $18,500 in contributions, followed by four who contributed $17,000-plus each. Altogether 22 individuals violated the limit by $1,000 or more.

Many of these contributors ought to know better because they have been long-time contributors to candidates for the legislature and statewide office, including former Building Commission member Bryce Styza, former University of Wisconsin regent San Orr Jr., former candidate for governor Terry Kohler, road builder William Kennedy, Genesis Health Care executive Karl Rajani and construction executive Paul Gehl.

Several of the contributors who exceeded the limit each contributed thousands of dollars to multiple candidates for governor - often to McCallum and Democratic Governor James Doyle. For instance, Thomas Radtke of Radtke Contractors in Winneconne contributed $3,000 to both Doyle and McCallum on the same day - October 29. He also made contributions totaling $1,250 to Democratic candidate Kathleen Falk between April and October.

The list of alleged violators is dominated by owners and executives of construction and manufacturing interests, including Randall Knox, who is chairman of the board of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, and Orr, who also serves on WMC’s board. WMC is the state’s largest business group and one of the most influential special interests in the State Capitol.

WMC’s leaders not only are fighting tooth and nail against reform of our campaign finance system, but now they even seem to think they are above what’s left of our current campaign finance laws," McCabe said.

In addition to the 42 alleged violators, another individual, road builder Ned Bechthold of Payne & Dolan in Waukesha, technically contributed $11,950 in 2002. However, a $5,000 contribution he made to Senator Joseph Leibham’s campaign at the end of the year does not count toward his total annual contributions under current state law. That is because it was designated to pay for Leibham’s recount costs following his narrow victory against incumbent Democratic Senator James Baumgart in the November general election.

State law places no restrictions on the amount a contributor may give toward a recount, even if he or she has already made the maximum regular contribution to the candidate - in Leibham’s case $1,000 - during that year.

A detailed summary of the alleged violators’ contributions from the candidate and committee campaign finance reports is available from WDC upon request.

CONTRIBUTORS WHO VIOLATED
THE ANNUAL $10,000 CONTRIBUTION LIMIT IN 2002*

NAME

LOCATION

EMPLOYER/OCCUPATIONAL STATUS

AMOUNT

Harvey Hammond Jr.

Mequon

HNTB Corp.

$18,500.00

James Connelly

Milwaukee

Foley & Lardner

$17,500.00

Bryce Styza

Chenequa

Harmony Homes

$17,350.00

Jere Fabick

Oconomowoc

Fabco Equipment

$17,345.69

Paul Gehl

Hilbert

Lunda Construction

$17,050.00

Daniel McKeithan Jr.

Milwaukee

Tamarack Petroleum

$16,650.00

Thomas Radtke

Winneconne

Radtke Contractors

$15,000.00

Richard Blomquist

Milwaukee

None listed - health benefits consultant

$14,900.00

D Edward Bolton

Milwaukee

Bolton Corp.

$13,100.00

Grant Nelson

Prescott

Retired

$12,500.00

Donald Layden Jr.

Milwaukee

NuEdge Systems

$12,100.00

William Kennedy

Janesville

Rock Road Companies

$12,045.69

Herbert Kohler Jr.

Kohler

Kohler Co.

$12,000.00

Michael White

River Hills

Rite Hite Corp.

$11,750.00

Jack Waterman

Wisconsin Dells

Great Wolf Lodge

$11,650.00

Diane Hendricks

Janesville

ABC Supply Co.

$11,600.00

Keith Mardak

Milwaukee

Hal Leonard Publishing Corp.

$11,500.00

Karl Rajani

Greendale

Genesis Health Care USA

$11,050.00

James Coburn

Whitewater

Coburn Co.

$11,000.00

Carol Hanson

Delafield

Homemaker

$11,000.00

Mary Kelly

Madison

Homemaker

$11,000.00

Carlene Ziegler

Mequon

Artisan Partners Limited

$11,000.00

George Prescott

West Bend

Prescott’s Supermarkets Inc.

$10,950.00

Robert Starshak

Fox Point

Advanced Health Care

$10,900.00

Randall Knox

Jefferson

WD Hoard & Sons

$10,800.00

Alexander Alcocer

Lake Geneva

Mann Brothers Construction

$10,500.00

Daniel Bader

Milwaukee

Helen Bader Foundation

$10,500.00

Yogi Bhardwaj

Wadsworth

National Petroleum Inc.

$10,500.00

John Brogan

Green Bay

Wisconsin Converting Co.

$10,500.00

John MacDonough

Chenequa

Retired

$10,500.00

James F. Miller

Appleton

Retired

$10,500.00

Ralph Stayer

Fond du Lac

Johnsonville Sausage

$10,500.00

Joseph Madrigrano Jr.

Kenosha

CJW Distributors/Madrigrano, Zievers et al

$10,450.00

San Orr Jr.

Wausau

Woodson Family Foundation

$10,425.00

John Bergstrom

Neenah

Bergstrom Automotive

$10,382.19

Lucille Rosenberg

Milwaukee

Sinai Samaritan Medical Center

$10,350.00

Ronald Fedler

Dodgeville

Gold Leaf Development

$10,250.00

Terry Kohler

Sheboygan

Windway Capital Corp.

$10,250.00

Vishal Lal

Greenfield

Advanced Pain Management Group

$10,250.00

Mary Waterman

Wisconsin Dells

Great Wolf Lodge

$10,200.00

Michael Pitts

Kenosha

Pitts Brothers & Associates

$10,100.00

Susan Mitchell

Whitefish Bay

American Education Reform Council

$10,050.00

*Totals are based on 2002 campaign finance reports filed by the candidates with the state Elections Board. The totals reflect sole contributions by the individual, split shares of joint contributions and contributions returned to the contributor by the candidate.

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign is working for a real democracy that allows the common good to prevail over narrow interests. We track the money in state politics and fight for campaign finance and other democracy reforms. WDC is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and charitable contributions supporting our work are fully tax deductible when you itemize.